


Seánce

by ShadowSelene (Shadowdianne)



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-16
Updated: 2019-08-16
Packaged: 2020-09-02 02:37:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20268643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadowdianne/pseuds/ShadowSelene
Summary: "You know the double-sided candle that snow used to kill Cora what if she brought Leopold back or queen Eva. I just thought if you hadn't done it could be interesting" Asked by anon via tumblr.Emma and Regina's missed scene from EP18 from S3, based on the prompt but with changes around the concept.





	Seánce

_“My magic gets more powerful every day. By the time this all goes down, I'll be ready.”_

_“Make sure you are.”_

Emma eyed Regina as the brunette woman approached her, worry glowing on her eyes. She had been ready to bolt from the house, nerves still present in the pit of her stomach ever since she had seen the candle being lighted. It wasn’t the flickering flames what had set her off per se but the heavy air that had grown around the table; the twitching yet calming touch of Regina’s hand on her as she had tried to talk only to be interrupted by the brunette the only thing that had kept her there. And now she used that strength again as she recalled what she had wanted to ask; her voice coming to her in a distant echo.

_“Is it okay for us to do this? For you?”_

The question, still trapped within her, crawled its way up her throat once more, breaking against her vocal chords as she swallowed it back down while she kept on staring at Regina, at the way she kept one hand away from her body, at the perfect posture her back presented even if her lips were parted in silent worry.

Humming, the blonde glanced at Hook only to shake her head twice, knowing already she couldn’t simply leave the former queen. Not like this.

“How about I stay and we go over the basics?”

Her words were ended in a filigree close to a smile. One she hoped was convincing enough for the brunette or Hook whose presence was almost stifling with how close he stood; eyes not as piercing but definitely following her every move. She was so focused on him, on her, on both, that she almost missed her mother’s half-hearted comment about how she had wanted to help Regina clean whatever was left from the misfired séance. Rising her chin, she kept on staring at the older woman; smile faltering slightly but her magic crackling within her; a barely-there murmur that she was still unsure on how to read.

The radiating warmth from the wood of the stairs leading to the main door felt far too much all of a sudden as Regina let out a slow breath; eyes flashing to purple as she did so. It was enough of a call, of a nod to her own, that Emma felt some of the smile returning, its message much more clear, more honest, than the previous one.

“Go to Belle.” Looking at her parents, Emma nodded as Regina kept on talking, voice breathy as she pointed to the general direction of where the pawnshop was. “She may have a second option, but we need to be prepared.”

“Swan.”

Hook’s urgent call did nothing for the blonde as she looked back at him, at the way he kept standing: too close, too impatient.

“Go with them.” Her voice lacked the confidence Regina seemed able to switch on with just the aid of a glare but she remained unyielding as Hook’s hand moved towards her forearm, the creaking sound of leather momentarily muting everything away. The pirate seemed about to argue but one look at her seemed to tell him she wasn’t planning on agreeing. Not when there was so much reaching inside Regina’s magic: a constant prickling that made her want to cross her arms close to her chest, palms tightly pressed against her sides.

She glanced away as soon as her parents and the pirate brushed past her, not truly knowing where else to look but at the walls that now seemed to glow in a brighter shade of white.

It was Regina’s throat as the brunette woman cleared it what made her blink and glance away; lips tensed in a fine line as she did so; as she read on Regina’s doubts as the two of them stood in the foyer with Emma’s left foot still on the top stair, the other firmly planted on the floor beneath them both. She could feel Regina’s eyes on her as she swayed from foot to foot, gravity changing as the silence stretched.

She had told Regina she always knew when she was lying but she had -perhaps- forgotten that Regina could read her just as well; the tellings she had worked so hard to suppress roaring red lights that now she felt as if illuminating her eyes with a very distinct hue.

“I'm not in the mood for a heart-to-heart.”

It was caustic, closed off, and Emma almost wanted to smile at it as she took a step onwards, boots scraping against the floor.

“Do I look like my mother?”

Her voice felt scratchy from a misuse that hadn’t happened, but the answer seemed to be enough for Regina as the brunette let out an almost chuckle before pointing towards the kitchen, back already turning, hands falling to the sides while sparkles made out of lilac fell down from her wrists like ichor.

“I’m not in the mood for magic classes either.” This time the words were softer; an almost gentle plead that Emma hummed at as she followed the older woman down the hall; their shoulders touching as they both walked in the kitchen, a hum of electricity coming from the lights as Regina switched them on.

“I wasn’t planning on asking you for some.”

It blurted out of her before Emma could properly edit her answer and, for a moment, she cursed her lips as she watched Regina move away; back towards her and arms close to her torso; blouse shimmering under the slightly colder lights from the room. Acutely aware of where the two of them stood, Emma approached the stool next to the kitchen island, fingers nervously drumming against the surface while she watched as Regina worked for a new set of tea. An edible one she hoped.

“You could have…”

“It didn’t seem like you wanted to be alone.”

She felt the tension rising on Regina’s shoulders even before she finished the words; the heavy silence that was unavoidable from any other part of the house settling on her lungs as she lurched forward, hand sliding against the counter as she twisted it upwards.

“Regina…”

There were things she wanted to apologize for: she could feel the word battling among many others against her teeth, crackling her resolve in the same way she felt her magic hissing deep within her; trapped still at the other side of a thick barrier she could only get tired glimpses from whenever she focused hard enough. Still not enough; still far too weak.

“We all need to do things we don’t want to do.”

Regina’s eyes were dark as she turned towards her and Emma felt her throat constrict as she swallowed; the words dying as they felt as fragile, as brittle, as glass. There were many things she felt like asking; many different doubts that had felt like a distant dream as she and Henry had lived in New York. Images and glimpses that tended to appear to her among dreams she would later on never remember.

“What would you have wanted to say to her?”

It wasn’t the one she had wanted to ask but it felt right as Regina lowered her head, shoulders losing the stiffness as she shrugged, magic rising around them both in waves.

“I told you…”

“You don’t need to answer.”

Regina’s lips curved into a smirk; an almost sad one that didn’t quite illuminate the purple on her eyes as they sparkled; the power bringing Emma’s white one in dizzying force. Silence growing, Emma pushed herself until her sternum protested; the edge of the counter digging on the bone as she struggled to breathe. She had felt the way Regina had reached forward while not wanting to break the connection their hands had made; in need of moving ahead, of calling her mother forth as the portal had opened and swirled; a promise of certain death reeking out of it in far too much clarity. She had felt her own need of simply channeling everything she had, everything she got, in order to get the spell to work; the call one that had felt as an echo of the time the older woman had eyed her with tears clouding her eyes and a curse about to strike.

“I don’t know.”

Thoughts being interrupted by Regina’s answer, Emma blinked as she watched as Regina sighed and walked closer to where she sat, heels clicking against the floor and presence crumbling.

It felt strange, Emma thought, to be in front of the brunette like this. She had the connection they had shared repair itself as memories had flooded her brain but that on itself was made of tenuous non-said words. The ones they both knew but had never voiced. Sighing, she turned her hand once more, palm facing down, over the formica surface.

“What would have happened if someone else had crossed?”

The question was stupid, she knew it, but death sat heavy against her collarbones and so she refused to look away until Regina’s own hand came into view, knuckles white.

“Who?”

Emma swallowed; names and titles mixing together; history and details far too convoluted and not completely clear to her yet. She could guess names, of course, Daniel, Leopold, Neal.

“No one.”

It was curt but she refused to glance away as she rose her eyes and found Regina staring at her; understanding reaching from her in a whirlwind that made Emma feel weak.

And there it was; the possible real reason why she had stayed. No one else would truly get, would truly fill in the blanks like the woman that sat across from her; beautiful in a sense that Emma wasn’t entirely ready to give voice to. She felt the need to assuage Regina’s own worries like flames licking her skin, burning everything else away and so she stayed, eyes searching as Regina tilted her head; hair cascading and reacting to the light as Emma felt the need to touch the strayed hairs that stuck to the older woman’s cheek.

The howling sound from a room above interrupted the impulse, though, leaving behind a vague sense of dread, the almost conversation dropped as they both glanced up, at where squeaking could still be heard.

“What was that?”

“I have no idea.”

Next time, Emma promised herself as she followed Regina while the woman circled the island, steps long but careful, she would talk to Regina next time.


End file.
